Member of the FPMT

With regard to your meditation, you can train your mind in the generation stage, until one sees all gurus as buddha and all buddhas as the guru, until one has very strong, stable devotion, not the devotion that arises after just a few hours or days, but devotion spontaneously arising from the heart. You must work every day on guru devotion. This should be your fundamental practice. In addition to that, until you feel that all the works of this life are not important and you have no wish to acquire these (good reputation, comforts, material goods, happiness in this life, etc.); until the understanding arises that death can happen any moment, any day, and therefore works for this life have no meaning and are nonsense and childish; until these understandings spontaneously arise in your heart, until you have these realizations, you should meditate on the general lower path of the lamrim, the path of the lower capable being.

When you feel about samsara the same way that prisoners feel about being in prison, day and night, naturally wanting to be free with an intense will to get out; when you feel as if your naked body is sitting on a thorn bush; when you feel as if you are in a nest of poisonous snakes; when you feel as if you are on fire; when you feel in these ways that samsara is unbearable and you don't have the slightest attraction to samsaric pleasures, even in your dreams, but only the wish to be free spontaneously arises in your heart day and night, then you have realized renunciation in your mind. You should also meditate on the true cause of suffering, the shortcomings of samsara (delusion and karma). Also, meditate on the three, four, and six types of general sufferings of samsara, the 12 links, and the sufferings of the individual samsaric realms.

One should come to feel as a mother feels toward her beloved child, as if that child is the most precious one in her heart—whatever problem the child has, even if the child were drowning or in a fire, the mother herself would jump in and rescue her child by herself alone. Meditate until that strong stable feeling simultaneously arises from the bottom of your heart toward all sentient beings without exception, not only wishing sentient beings to be free but wishing to cause it by yourself alone, to free all sentient beings from suffering and achieve full enlightenment for all sentient beings by oneself alone. For that purpose we achieve enlightenment. So, this thought needs to arise spontaneously and effortlessly day and night, all the time. You must meditate on bodhicitta until you gain this realization. Finally, the unmistaken realization of emptiness is when you can see subtle dependent arising and emptiness as one object, when you can see that things exist depending on their base and on thoughts as labels.

When you have the realization that anytime you want to see yourself as the deity and the mandala, it automatically happens, as explained by Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche, without the slightest effort, this is the generation stage. Everything, every detail, is very clear. This also entails being able to concentrate for hours without a single thought entering (attachment or scattering thought). Thus, this is how to go about meditating on these realizations. Without realizations of renunciation you cannot attain bodhicitta realizations. Therefore, one needs to work on attaining renunciation, doing analytical meditations on renunciation, bodhicitta, emptiness, guru devotion, and the generation stage. This is what you can do from now on. You can do as many of these meditations as you can each day.

The most important thing is the motivation in life. This transforms ka-ka into gold. The motivation decides the direction of one’s life: not seeking the happiness of this life, which is just one life and so short, but the happiness of all future lives. We work for 60-70 years of happiness in order to achieve just five minutes of happiness.

Thinking of the happiness of all future lives is the virtuous motivation which makes an action beneficial. The problem is the wrong motivation of clinging to the happiness of this life. So, anything we do with this motivation—meditation, prayer, etc.—is not virtuous, even though it may look like virtue. It is not Dharma.

Just having a virtuous motivation directs your life to happiness. All the realms of suffering—gods, humans, lower realms—are all eliminated with this motivation toward the direction of everlasting happiness. Of course, bodhicitta (the awakening mind), cherishing others’ happiness and bringing them all to ultimate happiness, and bodhicitta which seeks work for others and enlightenment for their benefit is the most satisfying, happy life.

In the morning, first rejoice like this. Think: “So far I did not die. I could be in hell or an animal. Even if I was a human, maybe I would be the type of human with no connection with Buddhism, just having the shape of a human but being just like an animal, mentally completely dark, like stepping off a cliff.” Think: “I have attained a perfect human rebirth and met the Buddha in human form in His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other high lamas. The buddhas take care of me. How incredibly fortunate I am. What a great opportunity I have. I can create any happiness I want, even the Pure Land, if I don’t attain enlightenment in this life. I will be able to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all others.

“This human life is more precious than a gem because I can create the happiness of this life and all future lives for myself and others—this is the purpose of my life and my responsibility, because all the happiness I have attained is due to others. Even this body is due to the kindness of others, my parents, and so on.

“Many people don’t have a perfect human rebirth, but I do. So, I am responsible. Also, I am responsible because I have the opportunity to liberate countless sentient beings.

“From now on until I die, I will never be separate from bodhicitta. Everything I do, eating, sleeping, sitting, walking, and so on, is for others. If I do this just for myself, I just create problems for myself.” This is the most important practice.

Chanting mantras is good. Why? To develop a good heart. It is just one method. But this [above] is the most important practice. If you practice like this there will be no regret in the future. You will enjoy happiness more and more. This prayer on the motivation of life is the first practice for you to do.

Secondly, think: “Due to all my past, present, and future merits, collected by me, may any sentient being just by seeing me, criticizing me, having contact with me, never be reborn in the lower realms. May they find faith in the Dharma. May all their wishes be fulfilled instantly according to Dharma and may they instantly attain enlightenment.”

Thirdly: “Due to all the past, present, and future merits collected by me, whatever I attain—failure or success, living or dying, pleasure or pain, being reborn in the lower realms, eating, sleeping, walking—may it become most beneficial for sentient beings.”

Conclude with this prayer: “Whatever I achieve by being in this world, universe, house, place, university, may all these people never be reborn in the lower realms but attain happiness. May all beings with AIDS and all incurable illnesses be immediately healed. May those who have depression have their hearts filled with bliss. May anyone with relationship problems be filled with joy. May those who live in poverty have wealth. May those who are jobless find jobs. May those wishing to find a friend find the friend who brings only happiness instead of friends who cause suffering. May all war and famine be ceased.”

Fourthly: “Due to all my past, present, and future merits, may my family and I meet only qualified gurus in all future lives, see only enlightened beings, and do those actions that are pleasing to the virtuous friends in all lifetimes. “ This is to make the purpose of our life vast.

Fifthly, if you want to do meditation, make a light offering to Manjushri, or you can offer to Lama Tsong Khapa since he is the same as Manjushri. Then do Lama Tsong Khapa guru yoga and lamrim prayer for a few minutes to increase realizations. If you can, recite 21 Mig Tsema prayers, or more if you wish, with white light purifying all obstacles so you can develop your mind. You can do 10-15 mantras with white light flowing into you, and you achieve the Clear Wisdom, the Quick Wisdom, and the Profound Wisdom. Then, for the rest you can do a short version where the light generates the Wisdom to recite Dharma and the Wisdom to Help. Also, you can generate other Wisdoms, like Debating Wisdom and Writing Wisdom. Altogether you can do one mala or you can do one mala for each wisdom.

Finally, dedicate the merit: “Due to these merits, may bodhicitta ripen within my heart, my family, the leaders of countries, violent people, and all sentient beings.” When you dedicate to all sentient beings it is like adding your money to everyone else’s. It’s like making a huge fund.

“Due to these merits may I achieve enlightenment and bring all sentient beings to enlightenment by myself alone.” Merit that is collected without bodhicitta means you receive the fruit just once. But bodhicitta it is like a wish-granting tree, it never stops granting you your wishes.

To protect the merit which we have collected extensively from anger or heresy we seal it with emptiness. Think: “These merits appear to exist from their own side. May the merit, which is empty, may the ‘I’ which is empty, attain Lama Tsong Khapa’s enlightenment, which is empty from its own side.

“Due to these merits may I have the same qualities as Buddha and Lama Tsong Khapa. May my merits be dedicated exactly as they dedicated their merits. I dedicate my merits exactly the same way Samantabhadra did.

“May the teachings of Buddha, especially those of Lama Tsong Khapa, spread and enter the hearts of all people on this earth.”

When you go to bed, you can do 21 Vajrasattva recitations. You can also do the 35 Buddhas practice, visualizing that you are prostrating. Then do the dedication as stated in Vajrasattva. When going to bed, remember the meaning of your life. Also, when going to class, go with the attitude that you are going for all sentient beings. Then it brings the most happiness and joyful things. Remember why you are there.

Vajrasattva Meditation and Mantra
On the crown of your head, on a lotus and moon seat, are Vajrasattva father and mother, their bodies white in color, with one face and two arms, holding vajra and bell, cleaver and skullcup, and embracing each other. The father is adorned with the six mudra-ornaments and the mother with the five mudra-ornaments. They sit in the vajra and lotus positions. In his heart, on a moon-disc is a HUM encircled by the mantra-rosary, from which cascades a stream of white nectar, cleansing you of all sickness, evil spirits, black karmic debts, and obstacles.

OM VAJRASATTVA SAMAYA/ MANU PALAYA/ VAJRASATTVA TENO PATITHA/ DRI DHO ME BHAVA/ SUTO KHAYO ME BHAVA/ SUPO KHAYO ME BHAVA/ ANU RAKTO ME BHAVA/ SARVA SIDDHIM ME PRAYATSA/ SARVA KARMA SUTSAME/ TSIT TAM SHRI YAM KURU HUNG/ HA HA HA HA HOH/ BHAGAVAN SARVA TATHAGATA/ VAJRA MAME MUNTSA/ VAJRA BHAVA/ MAHA SAMAYA SATTVA AH HUNG PHET (recite 21 times)

Through my ignorance and delusion,
I have transgressed and degenerated my commitments.
Spiritual master, savior, be my refuge.
Lord, holder of the vajra,
Endowed with great compassion,
In you, the foremost of living beings, I take refuge.

Vajrasattva and his consort then dissolve into you, and your three doors of body, speech, and mind become inseparable from Vajrasattva’s body, speech, and mind.

My Most Dear Julia,
Thank you very much for your beautiful, sincere, down to earth letter. You are practicing the most important things. I am very happy to hear from you, explaining what you have been doing, making your life meaningful, your awareness of life, that it is of an impermanent nature, and that you can’t delay practicing Dharma. It is also good to hear how the vows help you, give you a clear direction, make your life meaningful, and have helped you progress in your spiritual practice, how they help stop the distractions of the mind and enable you to put effort into what is most important.

I am extremely happy and surprised that you went to the website for my advice on daily practice and that your main emphasis is on guru devotion practice, meditation, and 35 Buddhas practice in the morning, Vajrasattva in the evening, also the 21 Taras practice, as well as Chenrezig and Medicine Buddha daily practice, and tonglen. On top of that, you are reciting the Sanghatasutra and Vajra Cutter Sutra. I think you will become a wish-fulfilling jewel for all sentient beings: for the numberless hell beings, whose suffering is so heavy that one second is like suffering for eons; the hungry ghosts, who do not find even a drop of water or morsel of food for hundreds of thousands of years; the animals, who have incredible suffering; and the human beings, who experience so much suffering in the world. By doing all this practice, you are becoming a wish-fulfilling jewel for all sentient beings. I am VERY, very impressed.

According to my observations, for your quickest enlightenment, your main deity practice is Most Secret Hayagriva. Other practices would also be good, like Guhyasamaja and Tara Chittamani. This means you can also take these initiations and can do some practice, but the main one is Hayagriva.

So, when the opportunity comes, you can take the Most Secret Hayagriva initiation. If you hear that I am giving this initiation, if you can manage, then you can come. Otherwise, you can take it nearby.

It would be quite good to practice shiné, and your focus should be on the Six Yogas of Naropa, on tummo, but there is no rush with that. At the moment, train your mind in guru devotion, the three principal paths, and then, afterward, do tantric practice—the tantric path of the two stages of generation and completion. You need an initiation for that.

Your preliminary practices are as follows:
Dorje Khadro fire puja—7000
Refuge—50,000
Guru yoga—80,000
Tsa tsas—200,000 (Guru Shakyamuni Buddha)

You should also recite, at least once each week, the Diamond (Vajra) Cutter Sutra. This will bring incredible purification and you will collect vast amounts of merit. Your success will be based on this.

Lamrim Meditations:
Five months—lower path
Eight months—middle path
Five months—bodhicitta
Eleven months—emptiness

These topics will be your main focus for those months. Please study these. It doesn’t mean you can’t do other practices.

I think you are a very stable, good, and inspiring sentient being. Billions of thanks not only for your practice, but for your service to the Dharma center.

My Dear Lesley,
My advice is to do 20,000 Samayavajra. Do the same visualization as for Vajrasattva, on the crown of your head with nectar flowing down, and the three purifications: downward, upward, and instantaneous. According to my observations, this is what you should do. Especially, you need to purify negative karma with the guru. If you have received a highest tantra initiation, you should do Lama Chopa every day. Study His Holiness's commentary. The rest of the day you should live with a bodhicitta motivation. Live life to serve others, thinking I’m here to free all sentient beings from samsara and lead them to enlightenment, happiness in this life and in all future lives, and liberation from samsara.

The other practice is to integrate your life with the five powers. That is the fundamental practice. It makes life most meaningful and beneficial for all sentient beings and does not create obstacles on the path.

One can do other practices, sadhanas, and mantras, but this is the foundation. You should also know the five powers for the time of death. If you are able to practice the five powers in daily life, you will be able to practice them at the time of death. First, one must know the outline of the two sets of five powers. But the key thing is always, early in the morning, to make the resolution not to be controlled by the self cherishing thought. From now on until death, especially today, vow never to be separated from bodhicitta. The rest of the day, by applying all the effort you can, try to perform all your activities with that thought. When you collect merits every day, dedicate them to actualizing bodhicitta for you and all sentient beings, to be able to generate bodhicitta in this life and all future lives. Study teachings on bodhicitta to see that it has great meaning in one's life. By knowing the extensive benefits, one can enjoy life practicing bodhicitta.

You should check in the teachings of the Seven Point Mind Training for the five powers in daily life and the five powers at the time of death. It is very good to think every morning, “I will die today.” Then, the day you die you will not be shocked. This helps you to accept death. When you find out you are going to die, put all your effort into practicing bodhicitta, giving sentient beings all your happiness, merit, and possessions. Their receiving all of this causes them to actualize the path and achieve enlightenment. Do this by generating great loving kindness, wishing them to have happiness and for you to cause them to have it. Then, generate compassion and take their suffering, sickness, and especially death onto yourself. Take all these into your heart as you breathe in and give them to your ego to destroy it, so that it becomes non-existent. Also, the emotional “I,” which appears to exist from its own side, is non-existent. Try to die with this motivation. Live life with this precious thought, which is all-fulfilling, and which is all-fulfilling for all sentient beings. If you die with this thought, your death becomes a cause of your enlightenment and the cause for the enlightenment of all sentient beings.

Before going to bed, if you can, perform the 35 Buddhas practice by reciting their names and doing the prostrations, if possible. If you can, do this three times or more. Recite Vajrasattva mantra a minimum of 21 times. Make the elaborate dedication by reciting the King of Prayers. It is easy to recite the King of Prayers. If you can't, then dedicate to actualize bodhicitta "by the merit of myself and others" and make the Samantabhadra dedication, to actualize Lama Tsong Khapa’s stainless and complete path which unifies sutra and tantra in one's mind, for the students and benefactors of the organization (FPMT) and all sentient beings to flourish forever. If possible, please make this dedication after each merit you collect. If that is not possible, then dedicate in the morning after your practice and when going to bed.

You should do the commitments you have received from Lama, they are there to purify your mind and help you gain realizations.

When you do Lama Chopa in the morning, there is a lamrim prayer with it, so you must concentrate well while doing it. It is a very skillful means for planting the seeds of the whole path in just a few minutes and it becomes a meditation on the lamrim.
With much love and prayers...

My very dear Stephen,
Thank you very much for your kind letter. I am sorry it took so long to reply. I checked what practices you can do:

1) Recite Lion Faced Dakini mantra and short prayer.
2) Recite the Heart Sutra.
3) Do Guru Shakyamuni Buddha daily meditation.
4) Wear the protection liberating from bondage of body, speech, and mind, make sure that you don’t get it wet, so take it off when you shower.
5) Read any books by me, Lama Yeshe, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Lion Faced Dakini mantra and short prayer is not your main practice, but this is for healing and to solve mental problems, also to protect you from harm from other beings that influence your mind and harm you. This comes from your negative karma and this is actually what is giving harm to you—your own delusions, the root of samsara: ignorance, not knowing what is the ultimate nature of the “I” and aggregates, and the self-cherishing thought. This is the main enemy that gives you all your problems, including AIDS; whatever problem one experiences comes from this.

Regarding the Heart Sutra—this comes from Buddha and is a conversation between Chenrezig and Shariputra. Shariputra asks questions and Chenrezig explains the answer through Buddha’s blessing. Reciting this leaves a good, positive imprint on your mind. The Heart Sutra is the heart of all of the Buddha’s teachings on the perfection of wisdom. This is Buddha’s most cherished teaching because it causes sentient beings to actualize the wisdom realizing emptiness, and this is the only thing that directly cuts the root of samsara: ignorance, which is the root of all sufferings and their causes: delusion and karma. The wisdom directly perceiving emptiness eliminates all the defilements, gross and subtle, so that one can achieve everlasting happiness and then full enlightenment. There is no other method that can directly eliminate all the gross and subtle defilements, only the wisdom directly perceiving emptiness.

Countless buddhas and bodhisattvas all came from this realization, that is why the perfection of wisdom is called the great method. There are different types of wisdom but this is not like the wisdom of how to fix a car or motorbike, this is the wisdom of the ultimate nature of phenomena—emptiness, the only truth. The omniscient mind, dharmakaya, the wisdom directly seeing the emptiness of all phenomena, non-dual wisdom—this is the ultimate wisdom.

The Perfection of Wisdom explains the whole path to enlightenment. Each time you read this it leaves positive imprints on your mind to realize the wisdom directly perceiving emptiness. In this way, you come to understand the meaning of the Perfection of Wisdom teachings.

By developing the wisdom directly perceiving emptiness, one eliminates all the defilements, one is able to achieve liberation, full enlightenment, great liberation, and then be able to liberate so many sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric suffering, liberating countless hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, human beings, suras, and asuras, as well as bringing them to great liberation and full enlightenment.

Reading the Heart Sutra has all these advantages. This is what you receive on your mental continuum. We can’t imagine it. If you really understood it it would blow your mind, it would blow all sentient beings’ minds. It is a most inspiring, really fantastic practice. No matter how deep one’s sufferings are, that one is going through, by reading the Heart Sutra it brings the ultimate end to all your sufferings, it gives you the ultimate freedom and liberation because it eliminates the karma and delusions, so you don’t have to reincarnate any more—the circle of dying and rebirth and all the sufferings we experience in-between. So, you can see this practice is extremely powerful.

The other practice for you to do is the daily meditation of Guru Shakyamuni Buddha. This is what you can do each day—the Heart Sutra and Guru Shakyamuni daily meditation. Lion Faced Dakini is mainly for purifying your obstacles.

What makes your life most meaningful every day is if you continue to try and live your life with the thought of benefiting others. Think that the purpose of your life is to free others from suffering and to bring them the cause of happiness, not only temporary happiness but ultimate happiness. This is the purpose of your life. Keep your mind in accord with this, and keep your attention on this. Always try to help others with your body, speech, and mind. This will give you the most satisfaction and fulfillment; this is what makes your life most happy. If this is your ultimate goal, it will cause enlightenment, the peerless happiness.

If you do the practice of Guru Shakyamuni daily meditation, recite the Heart Sutra, and live your life with a good heart, benefiting others every day, then when death comes you will be so happy, there will be nothing to be afraid of. You will feel so happy, and in this way you can be born in the pure land of Buddha and achieve enlightenment, or you can take a perfect human rebirth, meet the Dharma and Mahayana teachings, and achieve enlightenment.
With much love and prayers...

My very dear Robert,
Thank you very much for your kind letter. Sorry it took a long time to reply.

I checked which practices you should do for your quickest enlightenment. These are practices for you to do for your whole life.

If you haven’t already received instructions in the past about your personal deity, I have checked about this. For your quickest enlightenment it comes out best to practice Guhyasamaja. Later you can receive the initiation. First you need to go over the lamrim teachings. This is a guideline for your whole life: the main practice is lamrim.

You can even meditate on the lamrim during your working life, for instance working with the thought of bodhicitta. So, for a few months (see below), try to focus on that subject of the lamrim even during the day, when you are driving, working, eating, etc., so that the lamrim is integrated into your life.

Reciting the Sutra of Golden Light has incredible benefits, bringing success in achieving the whole path, so that you can enlighten sentient beings. If you become enlightened quickly it means you can liberate so many sentient beings from samsaric suffering and bring them to enlightenment more quickly. Also, reciting this sutra contributes to world peace and happiness in the country where you live, so this is an incredible contribution for world peace.

With much love and prayers,
Lama Zopa

Practices Given:
• Prostrations: 6000 to the 35 Buddhas
• Samaya Vajra: 400,000
• Guru Yoga : 9000 to Lama Tsongkhapa
• Tsa-Tsas Deity: 200,000 divided between the following deities:

- Chenrezig, Manjrushri, and Vajrapani (the essence of all Buddha’s compassion, wisdom and power)
- Lama Tsongkhapa
- Heruka (most of the tsa-tsas should be of this deity)
- Vajrayogini
- Mitukpa (most of the tsa-tsas should be of this deity)

You can give tsa-tsas to people as a gift for their altar. They can be placed in lines high up on walls, i.e. just below the ceiling, then small lights can be offered under each tsa-tsa. They can also be put in large statues or in stupas as relics. They can be put on mountains, in respected places, with protection from the weather, i.e. in a cave or similar. If a local Dharma center has a tsa-tsa house, which is a simple stupa, they can be put inside this.

• Sangatasutra recitations: 110 recitations
• Sutra of Golden Light: Recite three times each month for the rest of your life
• Lamrim Meditations:

Guru Devotion: Two months
Graduated path common to the lower capable being: Four months
Graduated path common to the middle capable being: Six months
Graduated path common to the higher capable being: Bodhicitta: Seven months
Emptiness: Four months

Work through these meditations repeatedly until you achieve stable realizations. Also, it doesn’t mean you only meditate on each subject for this amount of time. It means that this is your main focus for those months. Even when you are doing a deity retreat you still can do the lamrim meditation as a motivation, or you can do it during mantra recitation.

My very dear Lauren,
Thank you very much for your kind letter. Sorry for the long delay in replying.

I was very happy to read about your experience with reciting the Sanghatasutra. I have heard of many miracles and amazing stories from people who have recited it. I am collecting these stories to make into a small, inspiring book. Some of our centers received large donations after students recited it more than 150 times, even the next day. All the stories are very inspiring.

Regarding your questions:

1) Regarding studying the “Foundation of Buddhist Thought,” according to my observations, it would be better for you to study in Holland.

Also, you could study the correspondence course for the basic program from Istituto Lama Tsong Khapa in Italy. Or if the geshe in Alicante in Spain, or at Atisha Center in Australia have a correspondence course, you could also follow these. I think only Italy actually has the correspondence course set up.

2) I checked regarding your special deity, and according to my observations for your quickest enlightenment, it comes out best for you to practice Tara Chittamani.

I was wondering, as you are an interpreter, whether you could maybe translate either the Sutra of Golden Light or the Sanghatasutra? This is an incredible way to use your skill. If this is something you feel you can do, then please contact the director of the Education Department in the FPMT. She can help you to get the texts and also help to make them available as widely as possible after they are translated.

There are three volumes of the Sutra of Golden Light. Reading them brings great purification and one collects an incredible amount of merit. Also, it brings peace to the place where one reads it: the house, city, and even the country. Reading it is a great contribution to world peace. I am wondering if you could translate it into a language that is rare to find, like West African.

Regarding your practice, I checked what is most beneficial for your quickest enlightenment (see below). Please do prostrations to the 35 Buddhas before you go to bed, as well as Vajrasattva practice. Also, if you are able, please practice Guru Puja each morning. As you read this practice you will develop all the realizations of the path.

There are some books regarding the benefits of doing Lama Chopa (Guru Puja). Also, I have explained this during some retreats (Milarepa Center and Land of Medicine Buddha). It would be very good if you can read about some of the benefits.

Please make your life most meaningful with the thought of bodhicitta.

With much love and prayers,
Lama Zopa

Practices Rinpoche suggested:
• Refuge: 300,000
• Prostrations: 300,000 to the 35 Buddhas
• Vajrasattva: Before going to bed each night
• Dorje Khadro (burning offering): 400,000
• Guru Yoga: If you can, practice Guru Puja in the morning
• Lamrim Meditations:

Guru Devotion: Two months
Graduated path common to the lower capable being: Eight months
Graduated path common to the middle capable being: Three months
Graduated path common to the higher capable being: Bodhicitta 6 months
Emptiness: Seven months

My very dear Jennifer,
Thank you very much for your incredible practice; it is really something to rejoice in. I hope that everyone in the whole world can practice like you, so full of energy for good things.

I checked more specifically what practice you should do. According to my observations these are the practices you should do:

100,000 guru yoga to Lama Tsongkhapa (which means actually reciting 100,000 Lama Tsongkhapa mantras)
1,000,000 mandala offerings
200,000 Samayavajra
10,000 Diamond Cutter Sutra recitations

In the near future you should plan to do a calm abiding retreat, practicing the nine stages of calm abiding. It would be very good for you to try and do that.

First, study Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, as well as the Lam-rim Chen-mo (the elaborated lamrim). It would be very good for you to read the entire Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand five times. Read it slowly, thinking of the meaning as much as you can—that in itself is meditation. Whatever you don’t finish, then start from there the next day. You can read it twice a day or whatever you can, it is completely up to you.

Please study well the Tibetan language; I hope one day you can help translate some texts. We need many good translators in order to translate the many different texts and sutras from Tibetan.

According to my observations, it would be very good for you to meditate and study philosophy and it also would be very good for you to do social service. So, sometimes you can meditate more, sometimes study more, and other times offer service.

Regarding your preliminary practices, reciting the Diamond Cutter Sutra and making mandala offerings are your main ones. This is a wonderful way to collect merit and purify karma. It also helps you to realize emptiness. It is very good if you can try to memorize the Diamond Cutter Sutra, then you can recite it while you are walking.

If you can memorize it, probably you will be the first person in the west to memorize this sutra. There is a student in Washington who works for Wal-Mart as a cashier who has started to memorize the Diamond Cutter Sutra. Also, she recites the Vajrasattva mantra while working in Wal-Mart. [See here for Rinpoche's advice to this student.] As you are learning Tibetan, you can also try to memorize the sutra in Tibetan.

So, first read Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand five times, then do meditation. Try to have realizations on the gradual path of the lower capable being, then the gradual path of the middle capable being, then try to have bodhicitta realizations, and then realizations on emptiness. Then, in the future, you can practice calm abiding, maybe for one year. This is something for which you can plan. After that, you can try to have realizations on the two stages of tantra: the generation and completion stage.

When you meditate on shiné (calm abiding), visualize yourself as the deity. This can be your basis for shiné. Before you try to practice this you need to study all the teachings on calm abiding. You can check in different texts, so that when you start meditating you know what to do when obstacles arise, etc.

Sometimes we don’t get the opportunity to meet again and again and discuss things, so here I am explaining your practice for some time, so you know what to do and know how to make your life most meaningful.
With much love and prayers...

My very dear Constance,
Thank you very much for your kind letter. I did my Mickey Mouse divination and in order for you to achieve enlightenment in the quickest way and to be able to enlighten sentient beings most quickly the main deities for you to practice in this life are:

Heruka
Vajrayogini
Most Secret Hayagriva

From these three, Heruka and Vajrayogini are the best. If it is difficult to do both practices then I suggest Vajrayogini. Vajrayogini practice is extremely profound and contains important secret points of highest Tantra to enable you to achieve enlightenment quickly in one brief lifetime of this degenerate time. At the same time, it doesn’t have a very extensive mandala, with a lot of deities and details; the deity has a very simple appearance, with one face and two arms. The Vajrayogini practice has 4-5 special qualities and advantages. Please study the complete path of Vajrayogini. Before taking the initiation you need to take a great initiation as a foundation and preparation. Heruka is the best one for that.

After that, if you get an opportunity, you can take the initiation of Most Secret Hayagriva, which is the special deity of Sera Jhe College. If you receive the initiation then you can also do this practice. Maybe in your past life you were a Sera Jhe monk who didn’t have strong renunciation and didn’t keep pure vows. Maybe you became attached to a kangaroo and then were born in Australia (this is a little joke to put a smile on your face).

The conclusion is that what makes your life most beneficial is Tantra, which is the quickest path to enlightenment. What makes it the quickest path is through practicing lamrim – the three principals of the path – which comes from guru devotion. Guru devotion is the root of the path to enlightenment – looking at all the buddhas as your guru and all your gurus as all the buddhas. The more that one can practice this the less hardships and difficulties one will have. One is able to have more success, to fulfill one’s wishes, complete the path, eliminate the defilements, complete the path of merit, wisdom and method, and achieve enlightenment, liberating so many sentient beings from all the sufferings and defilements. You do this by enabling sentient beings to achieve the path and bring them to enlightenment. This all comes from obtaining the guru’s advice and putting the teachings into practice. However much success one has depends on how much guru devotion one has.

Whatever service to your teacher needs to be done is the best purification and best way to fulfill one’s wishes. It is the best way to achieve all happiness up to enlightenment and the happiness of all living beings, temporary and ultimate happiness: liberation from samsara and ultimate enlightenment.
With much love and prayers...